


Wrong Way 'Round

by UndercoverUwU



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Pre-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24691921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndercoverUwU/pseuds/UndercoverUwU
Summary: After five years of not seeing Adrien, Marinette is happy to have him back in her life, wanting to slip back into the easy friendship they had after she let go of her teenage crush, before he moved over seas.After five years of not seeing Cat Noir, is another story. The once playful flirting they had before, suddenly makes her heart seize in a way she honestly does not have time for, Not with her Senior Capstone looming overhead, and her new promotion at Gabriel.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	1. Re-introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Henlo this is my first Ladybug Fiction and is just for fun so pls be kind, I am always down for some feedback!

Its not common for Marinette to go out dancing. 

Between working day and night to finish her Senior Capstone Menswear Line, to finally being promoted from lowly Intern to Junior Assistant at Gabriel Fashion, she hasn't had a second to breathe, let alone go out clubbing. But tonight was a big night. Aside from it being the weekend before Alya's 23rd Birthday, Nino (Better known these days as DJ Blender) would be playing a set at this very club. It was kinda a big deal, getting to play at Club Nile, and Nino had practically been buzzing for the past month about the opportunity. So there she stood, in heels and low cut top that usually was reserved for the back of her closet, ready to try and make this a great night for her friends. 

"- you at the bar." Alya tried to shout over the music, stirring Marinette from her thoughts. 

"Huh?" Marinette Blinked. 

"I said, I have to take this call real quick, Ill meet you at the bar." Alya gave her phone a little wave and was already backing away towards the door, leaving Marinette alone with the thumping bass and her thoughts.

Waiting her turn at the bar, she ordered her and Alya Vodka Red bulls. Her last semester of classes have really been wiping the floor with her, and she was hoping the added energy drink would do something for the exhaustion that has been weighing her down lately. 

"Do you know when hes supposed to go on?" Came a voice from behind her and when she turned, she was met with what she almost mistook for a ghost. The familiar Blonde hair and Green eye combo seized the air in her lungs, and all she could do was gape. 

"ADRIEN!?" Alya shrieked a few feet away and nearly sent the two to the floor when she threw her arms him in a big bear hug.

"Hey Alya" Adrien sent Marinette a shy grin over Alya's shoulder, that turned his older features into the boy she remembered. All Marinette could do was stare. She couldn't comprehend what he was doing here, in Paris, in this club. The last she had seen him in person had to have been going on five years now. His father had taken him out of his final year of Lycee and shipped him off to New York, for some reason or another, and he hasn't been back to France since. Its not like he was a stranger, thanks to modern technology, she knew Nino and Adrien were as close as ever, despite the distance. She would even get a few minutes to chat with him now and then, whenever shed be around to catch the end of Nino's video calls. But to have him standing here, was not processing though her already fried brain. 

"What are you doing here?" Alya had to yell over the music. 

"I wanted to surprise my best friend on his big night." His sheepish grin turned into one of barley contained excitement " And I may or may not be in desperate need to reconnect with old friends, seeing as Im back in Paris for the year." 

Alya in true Journalist fashion immediately launched into a barrage of questions, while Marinette gave him a light smile. This was a lot to take in, but after the initial shock, she was happy at the though of rekindling her friendship with him. During Lycee the intense crush she had on him mellowed out, and by the time he moved away, her lovesick feelings had morphed into a gentler, genuine friendship. Having that back would be nice. Although she wasn't a love-struck teen anymore, taking him in now, she had to admit that the years have somehow only made him more handsome. His jawline sharped and shoulders had broadened, but the rest of his features were soft and kind. Just then she realized that the two had stopped talking and were staring expectantly at her. 

"I'm sorry, huh?" she questioned

A light dusting of blush broke out over Adrien's cheeks in an uncharacteristic but still endearing way as he leaned in a little closer. " I asked, how have you been Mari?" 

"Oh, good!" she quickly supplied "Ya know, school and work have been consuming my life, but im good!"

"Mari actually actually just got hired from intern to full time employee at your father's company, did you know that?" Alya cut in, always eager to lightly brag about her best friend. 

"No thats great! I actually have some shoots coming up for my father, maybe I see you there" Adrien broke out into a broad smile, and it really was no wonder he was a model with a winning smile like that, Marinette couldnt help but grin back. 

Just then, the lights surrounding the stage dimmed and flashed, a low bass rattled the walls of the club. Nino's Producer Tag rang out as he jumped into his first track of the night, making quite the entrance. Alya let out a whoop, immediately dropping any further plans of interrogating Adrien, to grab both his and Marinette's hands, dragging them out to the dance floor. Despite her tired limbs Marinette slipped into an easy smile swaying with her companions and the crowd. She wanted to make this a good night for her friends, old ones included.


	2. Un-Furr-tunate Timing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henlo its Chpt. 2! Thank you all for the kind words and kudos on the last chapter, its insane to me! Let me know whatcha think am always down for feedback!

"I don't think I've danced this much in years" 

Marinette panted, leaning heavily against the bar with her two companions. Nino's set had just come to a close and Marinette knocked back the rest of her drink, half to distract from the ache in her feet, half to try and keep the steady buzz she acquired in the last hour of drinking. 

"Hey guys! How was -ADRIEN!!?" Nino froze in place the crowd still swaying around them. 

"Hey Buddy, great set!" Adrien grinned, proud his surprise worked. Nino threw his arms around his estranged best friend, swallowing him in a hug.

"What are you doing here? Oh My Gosh, dude, is this real?!" 

"Yeah Im back" Adrien hugged Nino back hard and the two friends shared a happy reunited moment, before they pulled apart matching grins on their faces. Tonight all of them were having a hard time not smiling. Alya placed a hand on Nino's shoulder, looking between the two boys. 

"Hey Babe, that was a great set, let me buy you a drink before you two catch up." 

Leading her boyfriend to an empty space down the bar, Marinette turned her attention back to Adrien, this is their first time alone all night and she wasn't quite sure what to say. The time and distance had obviously left them less close than they used to be, but he was far from a stranger. She fiddled with the straw in her empty glass. 

"Can I buy you another drink?" Adrien asked, leaning in. His cheeks a deep flaming red she'd never seen on him before, probably left over from all the dancing.

"Sure" she smiled again. On any other night she would have have called it quits a few drinks ago, she was well on her way to getting more intoxicated than she has been in a long time. But she was having such a good night, and didn't want it to end just yet. So she let him buy her another drink. 

"That was really sweet of you, ya know, to surprise Nino like that." Marinette leaned further into the bar.

Adrien just shrugged. "I knew tonight was a big deal, and just hoped I could make it better. His set was awesome by the way, so much better seeing it in person than through video clips." 

"Yeah I know what you mean, hes really talented. And of course you made it better, he missed you... We all did. " Marinette didn't know what possessed her to add that on, but it was the truth. Before he left years ago, the four of them had been inseparable. Once her girlhood crush faded enough to let her function properly around him, and his father's tight leash slackened enough to give him more freedom, the foursome spent most days attached at the hip. 

"You BITCH, you let me buy you a drink and then don't have the decency to come home with me! what a waste" a short stocky man spat at a petite woman down the bar, startling everyone in ear shot. 

A spark of anticipation and worry shot down Marinette's spine, she'd been fighting Akumas long enough to know when something was about to go down before it even happened, like a sixth sense. 

"Excuse me" She turned briskly from Adrien heading towards the back of the club, she knew that if she wanted this to be dealt with quickly shed have to change and swoop in fast before much damage could be done. 

"Marinette" She heard Adrien call from behind her, but she was already bee-lining for a pillar in the back corner of the club, the perfect spot to transform. The crowd around her seemed to swarm and a scream broke out, letting her know that the chaos had started. Finally making it to the secluded corner she she popped the clasp on her purse and her Kawami darted out.

"Tiki! Spots On!" she yelled. And in an instant she was bounding out of her hiding place and back into the mess.

"I am Mr. Right, and no woman can resist me now" The once civilian man cried, now transformed into a larger than life villainous version of what was supposed to be a 'gentleman' but looked more like a discount monopoly-man cosplay.  
With a flick of his wrist, a bolt of purple lightning zapped the nearest woman, and she was instantly spellbound. Stumbling forward like a zombie she made her way to Mr. Right. The best course of action would probably be to rush in fast, and try to grab the Akuma quick. Unfastening the Yoyo from her hip, ladybug made to swing right up to the villain, but was stopped dead in her tracks. 

"Hypnotizing women to get with you is a little un-furr-tunate, dont you think?"

Before she could even move the black cat of a man, blurred past her sending a flying kick Mr. Right's way. Ladybug was frozen to the spot, It had been so long since shes even seen her partner, she was sure that it had to have been a hallucination. A shot of lightning to her woke her frozen limbs up, and she jumped into the action head still spinning.

"Hey LB, did you miss me?" Chat Noir sent a lazy smile over his shoulder as he continued to dodge and block the assailants attack. Ladybug stepped in trying to land some punches. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, or the shock, but she was off her game.

"what are you doing here Chat?" her voice flat, and steady trying to focus on the task at hand, and save the freak out for later. 

"Im wounded my lady, are you not happy to see me?" Chat teased finally landing a blow to the temple, with his baton. Ladybug surged forward, ripping the top-hat off the villain's head and tearing it in two. A small purple butterfly flitted out, and she was quick to catch it and purify it. Her mind might have been reeling, but she could do this part in her sleep. After all was said and done, the fight may have lasted ten minutes at most, but Marinette felt the weight of exhaustion settle heavy on her shoulders as she once again just stood and stared at Chat Noir. 

For a tense moment the two of them just stood over the dazed Akuma victim, trying to scramble off the floor. Until Chat Noir broke the distance and pulled Ladybug into a deep hug. Stunned she put her arms back around him on auto pilot. Her earrings let out a quick warning that her time was running out and Chat pulled back still gripping both her shoulders. For the first time he looked nervous. 

"I know its been a while, and I want to catch up, explain, could we maybe meet? Tommorrow? For patrol, like old times?" he sent her a signature Cheshire grin, but the nerves underneath poked through. 

"ok" was all Marinette could manage to, still dumbfounded. But Chats grin relaxed into a genuine smile. He reached down for her hand and manually brought her fist to his own. "Pound it" he laughed breezily and before she knew it he was already on his way to the door sending a goofy salute back at her. And she was left in the middle of the dance floor, thinking, "What the hell just happened?"


	3. Dazed and Amused

With an unceremonious flop, Marinette landed face first on her stiff mattress that came with the cardboard box she called an apartment. She let out a disgruntled sigh as if it would somehow ease the tornado of thoughts rattling in her brain. 

'Are you ok, Marinette?' 

Tiki tentatively zipped around the headboard, settling on the soft paper lamp shade. Marinette rolled to face her again trying to gather the right words to express how bizarre tonight had been. 

'yeah, Im just confused tiki, why now after almost five year? Is he going to stay? How could he be so casual about this' she rambled in a daze.

'Well I think he said hes going to stick around. And besides I thought you'd be happy to see him? Didn't you say that you liked being friends with him after you let your feelings go?' Tiki asked softly.

'Huh?' Marinette stared at her Kawami with a somehow more confused expression, until she shook her head almost violently. 

'No Tiki! Im talking about Chat not Adrien! I am HAPPY to see Adrien, and Chat Im...' Marinette trailed off, because what could she say, its not like she wasn't happy to see her long lost partner, but this sudden reappearance brought up a lot of questions she hadn't really let herself think about in a long time.

'Confused. Im just confused by Chat.' She concluded.

Not knowing quite what to say to ease her chosen's mind, Tiki settled into the crook of Marionette's shoulder and gave her chin a reassuring pat. Letting a bit more of a contented sigh escape, she cuddled in closer to the Kawami, accepting the soft comfort she brought, and decided to think about it in the morning. 

.  
.  
.  
<3  
.  
.  
.

Settled into the cold but familiar bed of his childhood room, Adrien finally let the anxious jitters from today escape him. Deciding that the initial re-acquaintance with Ladybug went a lot different -but not worse- than he intended. His original plan was to catch up with her when she was patrolling so they would be able to talk for longer, and it wouldn't be such an ambush. But this was his first night back in town officially, and as his bad luck would have it, an Akuma broke out before he was able to properly reconnect with his Lady. But it was done now, and he could finally let the weeks of tension he gathered agonizing over this first meeting go. Besides she didn't seem angry, surprised, but not angry he didn't think. And that satiated him enough to let his shoulders relax and his mind drift towards different things. 

He thought back to Nino's set. He was so glad that his surprise worked and his friends were just as happy to see him as he was them. He really missed them while he was away, and he was glad it seemed like they slipped back into an easy friendship, if the night was anything to go by. He thought of Nino and his contagious laugh when he pulled Adrien in for a tight hug. He thought of Alya and her light and breezy conversation that made him feel like time old times. And Marinette, while her shy smiles were entirely the same, there was something different about her. Maybe it was the way she seemed to carry herself but it was more self assured, more grown up he supposed. 

'Marinette looked different didn't she?' He wondered aloud half to Plagg, half to himself. 

There was no response and Adrein assumed Plagg had eaten himself into a cheese coma after fighting an Akuma for the first time in literal years. He turned his thoughts back to Marinette, trying to pinpoint what was so different about her. Contemplating the way she wore her hair longer than before down her back, or the decidedly more adult cloths she wore, and the way she flushed light pink from dancing and laughing next to him on the dance floor. 

Then it hit him, it wasnt so much that she was diffrent, but rather how he looked at her was. He though she looked really pretty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeehaw


End file.
